The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Fanatics, a global leader in licensed sports merchandise, today announced the opening of the first NBA Store in the UK, located at 14-16 Foubert’s Place in London’s well-known pedestrian shopping area Carnaby, Soho. The NBA is not just loved in America, it is loved globally with many people from all over watching the games and supporting their chosen teams, however, it is not the only basketball type that people like, as the WNBA has also been loved and followed by many with websites like WNBAcards.com and others, being used for sports trading cards to trade with friends and keep them as memorabilia. It looks like collectible business is here to stay.

Opening today, the new store features an extensive range of official NBA and WNBA merchandise and memorabilia, including exclusive NBA products, apparel, jerseys, headwear, sporting goods, toys, and collectibles from major brands such as Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Nike, and Wilson. The store also features a customization service where fans can personalize NBA jerseys and hats for all teams. The NBA is universally loved, so it is not a surprise that a store like this has been opened in Britain. For the die-hard fans who want to experience this first hand, there are things like cheap nba tickets for sale online that they can check out as well as sports streaming deals so they can watch the action in real-time.

The two-floor store is operated by retail giant Lids, which is partly owned by Fanatics, and builds on Lids’ physical retail expertise to provide fans with an authentic NBA shopping experience. As part of the NBA’s partnership with Fanatics, three additional stores operated by Lids around the world are scheduled to open in the next 18 months.

“Ahead of our 75th anniversary season, we are excited to welcome fans to the first NBA Store in the UK,” said NBA EME Director, Global Partnerships Steve Griffiths. “UK fans are true connoisseurs of the game, and through our partnership with Fanatics, fans of all ages will be able to celebrate their love of the NBA with an extensive range of official and exclusive merchandise.”

“The NBA is becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and we have seen some really strong growth across our online sites, with UK sales on NBAStore.eu growing significantly in the last five years,” said General Manager of Fanatics’ international business Zohar Ravid. “Opening the first-ever physical NBA retail store in London, combining our vertical product and ecommerce strengths with Lids’ high street execution, is a logical step and clearly within Fanatics’ strategy of expanding teams’ and leagues’ omnichannel presence so fans globally are served in the best way.”

“At Lids, we are excited to leverage our retail expertise by opening a new NBA Store in London,” said Lawrence Berger, Chairman of FanzzLids Holdings, owner and operator of Lids. “We are bringing the latest styles in headwear and apparel, plus our ability to customize hats and jerseys real-time in-store. We also look forward to opening additional international locations.”

The NBA Store in London is the first official NBA Store in the UK. The league also has official stores in Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico and Qatar, in addition to the flagship NBA Store in the U.S. in New York City. The NBA has more than 400 NBA-branded retail stores and attractions worldwide that serve as the league’s official destinations for fans around the world. NBA fans in the UK and across Europe can continue to shop online at NBAStore.eu for a wide range of NBA products featuring all 30 NBA teams.